The ASEA Advancing Life Foundation mission statement is to break the cycles of poverty, abuse, and suffering. Our foundation provides both funding and manpower to support the efforts of charities around the world. In developing countries, we partner with other nonprofits that provide sustainable solutions for clean water, education, human trafficking, food insecurity, and disaster relief.
Our partnership with Speak Up for the Poor was an obvious choice, considering it aligns perfectly with our mission. Speak Up defends impoverished girls in Bangladesh who are vulnerable to child marriage and other exploitation. Speak Up runs a Girls Education Program (GEP) sponsoring girls in poverty to stay in school and on the path to success. They also have a College Women’s Dormitory in Khulna, Bangladesh that provides housing to women in college who went through the Girls Education Program.
Partners like Speak Up are exactly why we do what we do. The main reason we love our partnership with Speak Up is because they are breaking the cycle of poverty by educating women. They are giving parents an alternative to marrying their daughters at a young age because they can’t afford to care for them. With their education paid for through the GEP, families have options. The women in their program are returning to their villages as nurses and teachers allowing the villagers to see there is a new way to live and provide for their families. We’re proud to play a role in helping them reach their goals.
College Dormitory Expansion
Since we formalized our partnership with Speak Up for the Poor in March 2022, the College Dormitory increased from 40 young women to 90 young women in late December 2022. They are now at full capacity after adding four additional beds, bringing their grand total to 94 young women living in the dormitory. Additional donations will continue to help them expand their dormitory to house more young women in college and nursing schools in the area.
Funds from the Advancing Life Foundation helped equip dormitory apartment flats with beds, bedding, furniture, curtains, kitchen items, and bathroom fittings.
Continuing Education by Any Means Necessary
One of Speak Up’s goals is to help thousands of girls in poverty to finish their education, get professional training, and then return to serve their community and country. 21 of the young women living in the dormitory are also working with the GEP part-time as teachers. In addition to their college-level studies, they help younger girls in the GEP to make progress.
19 young women living in the dormitory have completed their final comprehensive exams to graduate from high school and are now studying for their College Admissions exams, which will begin in February 2024. Each young woman receives a monthly stipend of $23 to cover miscellaneous educational expenses while receiving room and board in the dormitory free of charge.
Donate to Help the Women in Bangladesh
Your donations to the Advancing Life Foundation can help support Speak Up for the Poor as well as our many other charitable partners looking to break the cycles of poverty, abuse, and suffering. Donate today and be a force for good in the world!